Maximizing the Return on Your Pay-Per-Click Campaigns:

Maximizing the Return on Your Pay-Per-Click Campaigns: A key roadmap to successful web marketingA key roadmap to successful web marketing

Manager, SEO and SEM for Reynolds Web SolutionsBy Al Carl

The Agenda:

What Is Paid Search?

Internet & the Automotive Industry

Should Paid Search Be An Integral Component of Your Online Marketing Efforts?

Pay Per Click Basics

Changes in the Landscape

Paid SearchPaid Search

Paid Search / Pay Per Click (PPC)

Paid Search – What Is It?Paid Search – What Is It?

Paid SearchPaid Search

The Internet & The Auto

Industry

According to the Polk 2007 Dealer eBusiness Performance Study of New Car Shoppers:

88%

83%

79%

Conducted research beforewalking into a dealership

Used the Internet to do vehicle research

Used Search to research auto dealers

Paid Search – Auto IndustryPaid Search – Auto Industry

Automotive Online Advertising Spending

Paid Search – Auto IndustryPaid Search – Auto Industry

On-Line Advertising

Only 20% of Web users (for car information) said they used print ads when researching vehicles compared to 32% in 2005.*

The number of consumers visiting five or more manufacturer sites declined from 44% in 2005 to 34%.*

42% of used car buyers said they turn to dealer sites when researching vehicles.*

30% of retailers traffic in the US came from paid search in August 2008. Within the automotive industry it was only 25% - Hitwise

* Capgemini: Cars Online 07/08

Paid Search – Auto IndustryPaid Search – Auto Industry

Paid Search – Auto IndustryPaid Search – Auto IndustryAutomotive Online Advertising Spending *

$0.0$0.5

$1.0

$1.5

$2.0$2.5

$3.0

$3.5

$4.0

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Online Ad Spending in Billions of Dollars

Paid Search – Auto IndustryPaid Search – Auto IndustryTop 10 Automotive Websites by US Market Share of Visits (%) – Hitwise August 2008

0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00

Truck Paper

CycleTrader.com

Car-Part.com

Automotive.com

Copart Auto Auctions

RacingJunk.com

Cars.com

Edmunds

AutoTrader.com

eBay Motors

Paid Search – Auto IndustryPaid Search – Auto Industry3rd Party Lead Sites Paid Search Est. Daily Budgets

$0$5,000

$10,000$15,000$20,000$25,000$30,000$35,000

KBB AB AM C AT E

KBBABAMCATE

KBB – Kelly Blue Book - $6.35k

AB – AutoBytel - $6.9k

AM – AutoMart - $11.3k

C – Cars.com - $16.4k

AT – AutoTrader - $23.2k

E – Edmunds - $30.2k

Paid SearchPaid Search

IntegralComponent

Paid Search – Integral ComponentPaid Search – Integral ComponentProtection of Branded Terms

60%

40%

Brand Site

Other Sites

92%

8%

% of traffic from #1 Organic & #1 Paid Listing

% of traffic from #1 Organic Listing

Branded Search Study, Nielsen ReelResearch

Paid Search – Integral ComponentPaid Search – Integral ComponentMore Traffic

A study conducted by iCrossing illustrated a synergistic effect between paid and organic listings. The study indicated that having prominent placement in both lead to an increase in traffic of 91.8% and a 45% increase in desired actions taken by visitors over that produced by only having a top organic placement.

Paid Search – Integral ComponentPaid Search – Integral ComponentLower Bounce Rates

42.30%

44.00%

44.80%

48.70%

35.00% 40.00% 45.00% 50.00%

Direct

Paid

Organic

Referral

Engine Ready “SEO vs. PPC – The Final Round

Paid Search – Integral ComponentPaid Search – Integral ComponentHigher Sales

% of Sales Volume by Traffic Source

39% 27%

23%11%

Direct Access

Paid Search

Other ReferringSites

Organic

Engine Ready – 27 companies over a 2 year period measuring visitor metrics by traffic source. *Only 22% of visitors were repeat visitors.

Paid Search – Integral ComponentPaid Search – Integral ComponentWhy Pay Per Click Traffic Is Valuable

Controlled Messaging

Easy Variation Testing

Direct the Traffic

Specific Targeting

Paid SearchPaid Search

Fundamentals

Paid Search – The FundamentalsPaid Search – The FundamentalsSearch Engine Breakdown July 2008 – Hitwise

Google 70.77%

Yahoo! 18.65%

MSN 5.36%

ASK 3.53%

Others 1.69%

Paid Search - The FundamentalsPaid Search - The Fundamentals

Multiple StepsKeyword / Search Term SelectionAd TitleAd CopyLanding FactorsTraffic Conversion ProcessAnalytics, Analytics, Analytics ….Test and Test Some More

Highly CompetitiveFilled With DetailsFluid – Constantly EvolvingPlenty of Opportunity to Lose Money

Paid Search – Seems Simple, What’s The Big Deal?

Paid Search – The FundamentalsPaid Search – The Fundamentals

Paid Search - The FundamentalsPaid Search - The FundamentalsPaid Search Ranking Factors

Bid AmountBudgetRelevancyClick Through Rates Landing Page QualityType Of Site

Paid Search - The FundamentalsPaid Search - The FundamentalsPaid Search – Basic Steps

Start With The End In MindKnow The CompetitionIn-Depth Keyword ResearchCreative Ad Title & TextLanding PagesHave A Planned Conversion PathDetailed AnalyticsTest & Test Some More

Paid Search - The FundamentalsPaid Search - The FundamentalsPaid Search – Start With The End In Mind

What is the goal of your paid search campaign?VisibilityBrandingSales

How will you define success?TrafficLeadsSalesProfit

How will you measure it?

Paid Search - The FundamentalsPaid Search - The Fundamentals

AdsTargeted KeywordsScope of CampaignsVisitor Path

Do Not Always Assume #1 Is Doing It Right

Study the Competition

Paid Search - The FundamentalsPaid Search - The FundamentalsIn-Depth Keyword Research

Develop Extensive KeywordsClick-Through and Conversion Rates Vary Dramatically From Keyword to KeywordMultiple Word Keywords Typically Have Higher Conversion Rates

Some Tools To Use:Yahoo! Search AssistLive Search Related Searches Microsoft adCenter Labs - http://adlab.msn.comGoogle Keyword Tool - https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternalGoogle AdWords Traffic Estimator -https://adwords.google.com/select/TrafficEstimatorSandbox

Paid Search - The FundamentalsPaid Search - The FundamentalsYahoo! Search Assist & MSN Live Related Searches

Live Related Searches

Paid Search - The FundamentalsPaid Search - The FundamentalsMicrosoft adCenter Labs

Search Funnel Tool:

Shows most common searches after input search

term.

Paid Search - FundamentalsPaid Search - FundamentalsGoogle AdWords Keyword Tool

Paid Search - FundamentalsPaid Search - FundamentalsGoogle AdWords Keyword Tool – Domain Keywords

Paid Search - FundamentalsPaid Search - FundamentalsCreative Ad Title & Text

Do Not Overlook Ad CopyServe Alternative AdsMonitor ResultsEmphasize High-FlyersDump the DogsDo It All Over Again

“Ads Matter – Testing shows us that ad copy can have a huge influence on conversion rates….Search Ad copy is an art…”

Jonathan Mendez VP Business DevelopmentKaimen Associates & Digital Strategist

Paid Search - FundamentalsPaid Search - FundamentalsLanding Pages

Page Should Be Singularly Focused & Consistent With Search TermHave Simple & Straight Forward NavigationInclude A Straightforward Call To Action

Some studies have shown two calls to action can significantly increase conversion rates.

Only Ask For Necessary InformationRequire as little as possible

Quite Often Less Is MoreTest

Multi-VariantA/B

Paid Search - FundamentalsPaid Search - FundamentalsA/B & Multi-Variant Testing

Google Website Optimizer

Paid Search - FundamentalsPaid Search - FundamentalsAnalytics

Pick A Robust PlatformGoogle Analytics Most Popular

Other Major Analytics Providers:Core MetricsOmnitureWeb Trends

Get To Know Your Analytics SolutionBasic Analytics To Monitor

Click-Through RatesTraffic SourceBounce RatesConversion RatesEngagement / Time Spent On Site

Paid Search - FundamentalsPaid Search - FundamentalsA Well Run Paid Search Campaign Will Deliver

Better Qualified LeadsImproved Close RatesIncreased Sales Margins

Better ReturnsOn Ad SpendInvestment

More Sales

Paid SearchPaid Search

Changes to the

Landscape

Paid Search – Landscape Paid Search – Landscape Universal Search

Paid Search – Landscape Paid Search – Landscape Google Suggest Feature

Paid Search – Landscape Paid Search – Landscape Yahoo - Mahalo

Paid Search – Landscape Paid Search – Landscape MSN Live

Paid Search – Landscape Paid Search – Landscape Mobile

Mobile Search grew 68% from June 2007 to 2008.*

In June 2008 20.8 million U.S. mobile subscribers accessed search.*

Google had 63.0% of the searches; Yahoo 34.6%.*

Estimated Mobile Search revenue for 2007 is $33.2 million. – tkg consulting

* comScore

Discussion

Paid SearchPaid Search